Finance sins to be aired at royal commission into finance sector
THE royal commission into finance sector scandals will next month hear how some Aussie lenders may have breached laws because they did not always treat consumers “honestly and fairly”.
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THE royal commission into finance sector scandals will next month hear how some Aussie lenders may have breached laws because they did not always treat consumers “honestly and fairly”.
In its first day of hearings on Monday, counsel assisting the royal commission, Rowena Orr, unveiled a hit list of issues that includes fairness in lending around mortgages, car loans and credit cards.
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She said the commission had already accumulated evidence that suggested “consumers have not always enjoyed the right to be treated honestly and fairly when it comes to home loans”.
“Some of these events may have involved breaches of the law, while others may have involved departures from community standards and expectations,” Ms Orr said.
More than 385 public submissions had been received by the commission, with the highest number of 110 coming from Queensland and 106 from Victoria.
“We have seen a number of submissions about topics such as financial services entities acting on falsified documents, the provisions of inappropriate financial advice, inappropriate lending, and delay in processing insurance claims.”
At the same time, the royal commission on Monday turned a blowtorch to the banks for dragging their feet in preparing detailed lists of misdeeds going back half a decade.
It is believed the big four lenders — the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, ANZ and National Australia Bank — were asked to hand over extra information by 4pm on Tuesday.
The royal commission was called by the Turnbull Government in November after a series of scandals in the sector.
The commission is due to report by February 1 next year. Its next hearing is due in a month’s time.
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